Joint motion may refer to the movement of at least one of two or more interconnected (mechanical) elements relative to the other ones. Such joint motion may be observed in various forms from human arms or legs to robotic arms of an industrial robot.
In some cases, instruments (particularly surgical instruments) capable of joint motion are required to fix the joint motion state of the mechanical elements thereof. In order to fix the joint structure, there have been conventionally used devices or components configured with balls and sockets, which mainly rely upon the surface friction between two mechanical elements, as disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 2011-3192 of the applicant(s) (the contents of which are to be regarded as being incorporated herein by reference in its entirety); a construction for fixing the motion state of a joint by fixing only wires for controlling the joint motion, as disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 2010-115152 of the applicant(s) (the contents of which are to be regarded as being incorporated herein by reference in its entirety); or joint fixing constructions as disclosed in Korean Patent Application Nos. 2008-51248, 2008-61894, 2008-79126, 2008-90560, 2011-26243, 2011-29771 and the like of the applicant(s) (the contents of which are to be regarded as being incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). However, such devices, components, constructions or the like have often been inadequate to efficiently achieve sufficiently firm fixation.
Herein, the inventor(s) thus present a novel apparatus for fixing a joint structure.